The Fatimid documents collection

Author's name: Jamal al-Din al-Shiyal Publishing house: Al-Jamal Publications for Publishing and Distribution Year of publication: 2016 Literary classification: Historical study Book overview: While modern historical studies in Europe rely heavily on the role of documents and the valuable collections contained in these archives, which are truly considered the primary source for any historian aiming to base his research on sound scientific foundations, we find that students of Islamic history and researchers in it always face a major difficulty, which is the loss of these archives and the scarcity of these documents. The European medieval historian always finds abundant historical documents that address state affairs in general or local matters in various political, administrative, financial, judicial, social, and religious aspects; however, the researcher in the history of Middle Eastern Islamic states finds himself compelled to always rely on literary and historical references. As a result, his opinions are often general and unclear, crude and immature, because these references are considered secondary when compared to official documents, and most of the time they reflect the opinions of their authors. These authors are usually influenced by the connections that linked them to those they historiograph for, whether these connections were friendly and cordial or hostile and adversarial; some modern historical research has begun to pay attention to the importance of these sources (documents). Here, the researcher notes that historical and literary references still contain among their chapters a number of official documents that historians have not paid attention to, due to their scarcity and because literary and historical texts overshadow and almost hide them. Hence, the importance of the researcher’s work in collecting these documents related to the history of Islamic Egypt, as only a large collection requires significant time and effort to study. He decided to start by collecting documents from the Fatimid era first. This book is the result of that effort, as it includes a collection of Fatimid documents. After reviewing as many historical and literary references as possible—both manuscripts and printed—he collected 110 documents. He classified them into groups based on systems of governance and types of life, resulting in thirteen groups, as follows: 1- (10) documents about the caliphate system and succession, 2- (13) documents about the ministry system and ministers, 3- (9) documents about the judiciary system and judges, 4- (2) documents about the market regulation system and market inspectors, 5- (1) document about الدعوة and الدعاة (callers), 6- (20) documents about the financial and economic system, 7- (9) documents about social life and holidays, 8- (3) documents about internal security and public safety, 9- (14) documents about administrative systems, diwans of governance, and governors in the capital and provinces, 10- (2) documents about scientific life, teaching roles, and schools, 11- (7) documents about the army, its divisions, and systems, 12- (6) documents of safes (i.e., records for securing different social groups on various occasions), 13- (14) documents about foreign relations. After this classification, the researcher arranged them chronologically (placing documents issued during the reign of Al-Muizz first, followed by those from Al-Aziz, then those from Al-Hakim), after studying each group separately. This was to facilitate the study of each system of governance and its development from the establishment of the state until its end. He then attached this to a comparative analytical study, after verifying the authenticity of each document appearing in history and literature books and in writings, highlighting the new contributions each document can add to science and history. Thus, the researcher affirms that this collection will provide researchers and historians with a rich, new, and authentic material that will change much of the commonly known history of Egypt during the Fatimid era, and about the various governance systems during this glorious state. It will also uncover many external relations that connected it with neighboring countries, especially Sham (Levant), Yemen, Sicily, and the Abbasid Caliphate. It is worth noting that a summary study preceded this presentation, in which the researcher outlined the principles, foundations, and historical facts related to the systems of: caliphate and succession, and the ministry, as clarified in this collection of documents published in this volume, and as explained and detailed in the comparative analytical study dedicated to each document in the first section of this book.